Airy Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse

This week my friend passed his PhD preliminary exam in Molecular Plant Sciences! With the completion of such an incredible accomplishment I believed that the occasion required an incredible dessert. And since he belongs to the philosophy of "it isn't dessert if it isn't chocolate" I decided to bake up soft chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate peanut butter mousse and dark chocolate drizzle. So good. Here is how I did it. 

Airy Chocolate Cake:
(Makes 24 cupcakes or 2 9" round cakes)

1/2 cup + 3 T unsweetened cocoa 
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup + 2 T buttermilk
3 large eggs
2 1/4 t vanilla
2 1/4 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 c softened unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350F. This recipe takes a lot of bowls but it is so worth it! Alright- in a small bowl whisk the water and cocoa powder together. This will form a thick paste. Set aside and allow to cool. In another bowl, combine the eggs, one-quarter of the cocoa paste, buttermilk and vanilla. In yet another bowl...combine the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients for 30 seconds just to make sure that they are well incorporated. Now add the butter and the remaining cocoa mixture. Mix on low until the ingredients are moistened. Add the egg mixture in increments, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Finally, once all ingredients are mixed together, continue to mix for an additional minute or so to fully aerate the batter. Spoon 1/8 cup batter into each cupcake paper. Cook at 350 for 10 minutes. Set out to cool before frosting. 

As this cake is very light and fluffy but it will not keep its texture for more than a day or two. I think that it tastes best within one day of baking.


Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse:
(Makes approximately 6 cups of frosting)

5 T flour

1/2 cup milk

1 1/4 cup butter, soften

1/3 cup Peanut Butter

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup baker's sugar (super fine)

2 t vanilla 

1/4 t salt

Blend 5 T four and ½ cup milk over low heat until it get thick. (It will look like very thick, old time, school paste. Basically a blob) Set aside to cool. I am not very patient, so I spread the blob over wax paper to cool quicker.

Cream the butter, sugar and peanut butter. Add the vanilla. Sift the cocoa powder over and mix in. Add thickened flour mixture and beat well. The frosting should be light and fluffy. Set aside. this can be made ahead of time and stored covered on the counter for up to 2 days. 

To garnish, melt some dark chocolate chips and use as a drizzle. The best way that I like to do this is to put some baking chips into a sandwich bag and dunk the bag into a mug of hot (not boiling) water. Gently massage the bag to make sure that it has all melted. Then, use the sandwich bag as the piping bag by snipping a little tip off a corner and drizzle over the frosted cupcake. This is a wonderful trick that works 100 percent of the time! 

Thank you for visiting! I hope that you have a wonderful weekend filled with chocolate bliss and delicious desserts. 

Until next time, Happy Eating.